1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bulk material tenders, such as trucks or trailers, that receive and discharge grain and the like and, more particularly, to a tender which discharges material from its side with a one-piece folding auger that moves between a first, discharging position and a second, stowed position.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to provide bulk material tenders with pivotally mounted unloading tubes which, for transport purposes, are positioned alongside the tender, but for unloading purposes can be pivoted to positions generally traverse to the tender for unloading the tender from the side. For these purposes, it is of particular importance to efficiently and effectively position the discharge tube for unloading, while providing suitable communication for the material between the tender and the discharge tube. It is also important to provide for lateral movement of the discharge tube. Bulk material tenders of the type described herein typically transport on the order of 16 to 24 tons of dry material which may be discharged through a system of augers at rates up to approximately 4,000 lbs. per minute unloading capacity. Thus, once positioned properly for discharge, such tenders may typically be unloaded in 8 to 12 minutes. Much time is expended preparing the tender and particularly the configuration of discharge augers to prepare the tender for unloading. Prior art approaches have utilized articulated auger tubes and discharge auger tubes having multiple sections which are disassembled for stowing and must be reassembled for discharge. Such operations may be time consuming, especially relative to the fairly short amount of time required to unload the bulk material once the tender is set up for discharge.
Additionally, most prior art bulk material tenders provide discharge tubes which move in all three axes in preparation for unloading of the material. It should be appreciated that free movement in all three axes is unnecessary and perhaps adds to the time required for setup.
The following exemplify prior art approaches. U.S. Pat. No. 2,877,914 to Herr discloses a bulk loading conveyor pivotally mounted at the rear of a truck for movement both in the azimuth and vertical directions. In operation, the conveyor pivots about three axes of rotation and a bale provides an axis about which a boom may be rotated angularly to raise or lower its outer end. A trunnion permits the boom to swivel in the azimuth. U.S. Pat. No. 3,326,397 to Litman et al. discloses an apparatus in which a crane boom, a trolley, a chain having a turn buckle, a roller block and a lifting bale cooperate to move a discharge belt conveyor between an operating position and a stowed position. The turn buckle thus raises the conveyor for enabling the boom to pivot about its axis, to swing the conveyor while the conveyor rotates through its pivotal mount with lifting bale and sides outward along the boom through the trolley, in order to be moved from its stored position to its operative position. U.S. Pat. No. 3,770,101 to Carlson discloses an articulated unloading boom hinged to one end of a transport storage body for movement between a retracted travel position, wherein the boom is unfolded against one side of the body, and an erect service position, wherein the hinged boom sections are aligned. The boom comprises an upper section and a lower section pivotally joined by a hinge. A hydraulic actuator rotates the upper section between its folded, travel position and its aligned, service position relative to the lower section. U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,087 to DeCoene discloses a system for moving an unloading tube having a main portion and an end portion angled with respect to the main portion between an inoperative, transport position and a selected unloading position. The angled end portion is thus pivotally mounted on a lower inclined portion of a side wall so as to extend upwardly and outwardly away from the central, vertical fore and aft plane of a vehicle. DeCoene thus uses a segmented auger wherein segments are disposed at a predetermined angle to one another and consequently the auger is able to pivot about a single axis located perpendicular to the inclined mounting surface of the side wall for moving between the desired position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,275 to Karlowski discloses an auger support arrangement for attachment to a side wall of a truck box, which enables the auger to be moved from a storage position alongside the side wall to an operating position parallel to the tailgate of the truck. An auger conveyor is supported upon a swingable material conveyor support which includes a pivot arm swingable in an arc about a first hinge joint and a clamp for centrally attaching the arm to the auger conveyor. The clamp includes a second hinge joint and third hinge joint for enabling the auger conveyor to pivot about multiple axes when moving between its stored and operating positions. The auger system is attached substantially at its center and moved therefrom by an arm attached to the side wall of the truck box. U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,938 to Niewold discloses a positioning mechanism for an auger in which the auger is hydraulically swung between its transport and working positions. The auger tube is mounted at its lower end by a swivel to a wall of a hopper, permitting the auger tube to swing into place via a hydraulic cylinder.
Since multiply segmented, articulated and swivelably mounted auger systems often are difficult and time consuming to set up and are easily fouled, it is desirable to provide an auger conveyor system for a discharge tube which is easily set up, moves only in defined planes and provide effective, dust-free communication of the bulk material from the tender to the discharge tube. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide discharge tube movement about one axis from its stowed position to its operating position, wherein dust-free communication of material is provided from the tender to the discharge auger. Then, it is further desirable to provide limited lateral discharge tube movement in a single vertical plane alongside the tender, allowing the discharge tube to move upwardly and downwardly within a predetermined range for unloading purposes. By limiting the movement of the discharge tube to provide for only necessary movements, it is thus possible to provide timely and effective setup for discharge of the bulk material tender.